The Fair Pardons Constitutional Amendment did not arrive fully formed. Like most meaningful legal language, it evolved — each revision sharpening the scope, closing loopholes, and improving the precision of the text. This article walks through every version of the proposed amendment, from the original one-sentence draft to the current wording, and explains why each change was made.
Version 1 — The Original Draft
“The President shall not have the power to grant a pardon for any offense committed during the term of the President who issues the pardon.”
The first version was intentionally simple. It established the core principle: a sitting president should not be able to pardon offenses that occurred on their own watch. The language was direct and easy to understand, focused solely on the issuing president’s term.
However, this initial wording had gaps. It said nothing about reprieves — only pardons. It did not address the scenario of a president who previously served as Vice President pardoning conduct from that earlier period. And it contained no mechanism to prevent a president from issuing preemptive pardons before the amendment could take effect. These gaps prompted the first major revision.
Version 2 — Expanding the Scope
“The President’s power to grant reprieves and pardons shall not extend to offenses committed during that President’s term of office, nor during any term in which that President served as Vice President. This restriction shall apply to all pardons heretofore and hereafter granted.”
This revision was a substantial expansion. Three key changes were introduced:
Reprieves added alongside pardons. The original draft only mentioned pardons, but the Constitution grants the president power over both reprieves and pardons. By including reprieves, the amendment closed a potential workaround where a president could issue a reprieve instead of a pardon to achieve the same protective effect.
Vice Presidential coverage. A president who previously served as Vice President could potentially pardon conduct from that earlier period of executive service. This clause closed that loophole by extending the restriction to any term in which the president served as Vice President.
Retroactive application. The phrase “heretofore and hereafter granted” made the restriction apply both retroactively and prospectively. This prevented a president from rushing to issue pardons before ratification in order to get ahead of the reform.
Version 3 — Refining the Language
“The power to grant reprieves and pardons shall not extend to offenses committed during the term of office of the President granting such clemency, nor during any term in which such President served as Vice President. This restriction shall apply to all pardons heretofore and hereafter granted.”
The third revision made targeted wording changes without altering the amendment’s scope. The adjustments were about legal precision and tone:
Removed possessive framing. “The President’s power” became “The power to grant reprieves and pardons.” This shift depersonalized the language, framing the restriction as a limit on the power itself rather than on a particular officeholder. This is more consistent with how constitutional amendments typically describe governmental authority.
Clarified the reference to the granting president. “During that President’s term of office” became “during the term of office of the President granting such clemency.” The revised phrasing removes any ambiguity about which president is being referenced and uses “such clemency” — a more formal legal term that encompasses both pardons and reprieves in a single reference.
Consistent pronoun usage. “That President” was replaced with “such President” throughout. The word “such” is a standard legal drafting convention that ties the reference back to the previously identified party, reducing the risk of misinterpretation.
Version 4 — Adding an Enforcement Clause
“The power to grant reprieves and pardons shall not extend to offenses committed during the term of office of the President granting such clemency, nor during any term in which such President served as Vice President. This restriction shall apply to all reprieves and pardons heretofore or hereafter granted, which shall be void if inconsistent with this article.”
This revision kept the structural framework of Version 3 but made two notable additions:
Reprieves included in the retroactivity clause. The earlier versions applied retroactivity only to “pardons heretofore and hereafter granted.” Version 4 changed this to “reprieves and pardons,” ensuring the retroactive reach matched the full scope of the prohibition. Without this fix, a previously issued reprieve could have fallen outside the amendment’s reach even though future reprieves would be covered.
Explicit void clause. The phrase “which shall be void if inconsistent with this article” was added to spell out the consequence of a violation. Earlier versions declared what the president’s power “shall not extend to” but did not state what happens to a clemency act that violates the restriction. This clause made it unambiguous: any reprieve or pardon that conflicts with the amendment is void.
Version 5 — Streamlining the Text (Current)
“No reprieve or pardon shall be valid for any offense committed during the term of office of the President issuing it, or during any term in which that President served as Vice President, whether granted heretofore or hereafter.”
The current version is a substantial restructuring that condenses the amendment into a single, more direct sentence:
Active prohibition replaces scope limitation. “The power to grant reprieves and pardons shall not extend to” became “No reprieve or pardon shall be valid for.” Rather than describing a limit on presidential power, the text now directly invalidates the act itself. This is a stronger and more self-executing formulation — there is no need for a separate enforcement clause because the invalidity is built into the core prohibition.
Simplified presidential reference. “The President granting such clemency” was shortened to “the President issuing it.” This is plainer language that accomplishes the same thing — identifying the president who grants the clemency — without the formality of “such clemency.”
Returned to “that President.” Version 3 had adopted “such President” as a legal drafting convention, but the current text returns to “that President,” favoring readability over formalism while maintaining the same clear reference.
Integrated retroactivity. The separate enforcement sentence (“This restriction shall apply to…”) was absorbed into the main clause as “whether granted heretofore or hereafter.” This eliminated the need for the void clause added in Version 4, since the core text now declares that no such pardon “shall be valid” — past or future.
Looking Forward
The amendment’s evolution reflects a deliberate process of refinement. Each version preserved the core principle while improving the legal precision and closing potential loopholes. The trajectory has been toward simpler, more self-executing language — from a four-line, two-sentence construction to a single direct sentence. Future revisions, if any, will continue to be documented here as the amendment progresses toward congressional consideration.
